On June 7, Tiana Smalls, whose Facebook profile describes her as owner
of Fire Flower Beauty Company, was riding a Greyhound bus from
Bakersfield, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. As the bus approached an
agricultural checkpoint at the Nevada state line, Ms. Smalls said the
driver made an unusual announcement: "We are being boarded by Border
Patrol. Please be prepared to show your documentation upon request."

Ms. Smalls immediately reacted. According to a description she posted on
Facebook, she stood up and loudly said, "This is a violation of your
Fourth Amendment rights. You don't have to show them shit!!!" She
then used Google Translate to repeat her message in Spanish, reassuring
the Spanish-speaking woman sitting beside her and probably countless
other fellow passengers.

Border Patrol agents boarded the bus and started to ask the passengers
for their "documentation." Ms. Smalls stood up again and shouted, "You
have NO RIGHT to ask me for anything! This is harassment and racial
profiling! We are not within 100 miles of a border so [these agents]
have no legal right or jurisdiction here!"

Ms. Smalls' simple and courageous act of resistance was enough. The
Border Patrol agents, realizing that they would face an uphill battle,
immediately retreated, telling the driver to continue on.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials claim sweeping authority to
operate in the interior of the United States. Their basis for doing so
is a federal statute that purports to allow CBP officers to undertake
certain enforcement activities without a warrant "within a reasonable
distance from any external boundary of the United States." A federal
regulation adopted in 1953 inexplicably defines a "reasonable distance"
as up to 100 air miles from any external boundary of the United
States—an area that sweeps up nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population
(200 million people), nine of our 10 largest cities, and several entire
states (including Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Jersey). And
still CBP cheats its way to more interior encroachment, for example, by
claiming that the Great Lakes shared with Canada are "functional
equivalents of the border" so that all of Michigan and Chicago are in
its reach.

CBP often overlooks basic civics in making this power grab, however. No
act of Congress can authorize a violation of the Constitution, which is
the supreme law of the land.

In general, the Fourth Amendment allows law enforcement to enter
business areas that are open to the public. In nonpublic areas, however,
law enforcement officers must have a warrant, consent, or "exigent
circumstances" for their entry to be constitutional. Because you need a
ticket to board a Greyhound bus, these are nonpublic areas. In a recent
letter to Greyhound's general counsel, the ACLU explained that Greyhound
is not obligated to consent to the Border Patrol's warrantless and
unjustified raids on its buses.

Since Trump took office, CBP activity far from our actual borders has
increasedsignificantly. ACLU affiliates in Washington, California,
Arizona, Michigan, New York, Vermont, and Florida have reported multiple
incidents involving Border Patrol agents boarding Greyhound buses
without a warrant or consent, and terrorizing passengers by demanding
their papers. These reports indicate that Border Patrol agents routinely
engage in racial and ethnic profiling, singling people out for the color
of their skin or accents.

We live in dark times. Many people want to stand up for their own rights
and the rights of others, but feel unsure about how. Ms. Smalls'
experience, like that of two brave women in Montana last month, teaches
us that sometimes knowing one's rights and speaking out with confidence
delivers truth to abusive power.